12/22/2017

SEC nominees Pierce and Jackson confirmed by Senate

The Senate confirmed Democrat Robert Jackson and Republican Hester Peirce as SEC commissioners Thursday night, along with other nominees to federal agencies. Mr. Jackson, a professor at Columbia University, and Ms. Peirce, a senior research fellow at George Mason University, will join the SEC after they are sworn in. ...

As a professor, Mr. Jackson petitioned the SEC to require that public companies disclose their political expenditures. Congressional Republicans, to prevent the SEC from writing such a rule, prohibited the agency from spending funds on the measure. The request attracted hundreds of thousands of public comments. The SEC, under former Chairman Mary Jo White, declined to act on it.

“Even as the stock market reaches record highs, we have a lot of work to do,” Mr. Jackson said in a statement after he was confirmed. “I am committed to making sure that investors are protected, that our markets provide the level playing field Americans deserve, and that entrepreneurs have access to the capital they need to grow our economy.”

I opposed Jackson's nomination and remain concerned about his policy preferences. But I nevertheless wish him and Pierce well in their new positions and commend their willingness to serve their country.